HEY!
Planning my first deep dive into the sea of eurorack and I have a Moog DFAM and a Grandmother to start with.
My goal is to expand the DFAM and have something interesting to play with live. The music I make ranges from calm ambient to aggressive noise.
I'm using an MPC LIVE 2 with CV as my main sequencing unit.
Does anyone have any inputs or anything to add to this setup?
Every thought is appreciated
All the best
Remove the DFAM. It's got a case, and it's got power already...so it doesn't need to be in the Eurorack case taking up room and crowding out modules that DON'T have a case or power. Already, you can see here that you've been forced into using some tiny (and therefore difficult to work with under many circumstances) modules that probably shouldn't be tiny. And then there's the CV issue...Moog's 60-hp-ers use a bipolar CV (both above and below 0v values are valid) where Eurorack uses CVs that run from 0v and upward. Erica has a fix for this with their MScale PICO module, but you don't have room for one, so...
In truth, I wouldn't go with a single row skiff here at all. They're sort of a "trap", because while it IS possible to build a rig in a single-row skiff, compromises have to be made and it takes some experience to know how to do that without screwing yourself over. Instead, get (and yes, I know you hear this constantly on here) a Tiptop Mantis which gives you 2 x 104 hp, has good power and ergonomics, and which costs (in the USA) less than $350. It's perhaps the best starter case out there. You can even expand it via joining brackets and add a second Mantis later on (or a third or fourth IF you have some external support for the top cabs).
As for the MPC...if there's a limitation to which channels can address the analog I/O but you can still assign things to MIDI outputs, it might make more sense to look into Expert Sleepers' interfaces, particularly the ones that incorporate a class-compliant MIDI port. These can be expanded as needed by dropping in more 4 hp width expansion modules, so you can literally dictate how many CV/gate/trig/clock/etc outs and ins (yep...you can transmit CV data back to your DAW with one of those!) you need.
And an example of why you need more space fits right in with your industrial noise stuff...go and have a look at the offerings from Moffenzeef and Schlappi Engineering that, at present, you can't fit into the build. Seriously...go bigger.
Hey Lugia! Thank you for the input! I see your point and it all makes sense. Much of it I have considered too.
I however wasn't totally clear it seems. The thing is that this system will be part of a pedalboard where I have the MPC, the DFAM, two pedals and an acoustic noise machine. You see, it happens to be so that I have just enough space (exactly enough) to fit a 104 make noise skiff on the pedalboard. The pedalboard will be complemented by the grandmother, vocals and two poly synths.
In the future l will expand with a bigger case for a more thorough system, but this is made mostly to expand the DFAM for live use. So, do you think it would work well or do you have any ideas on what to expand the DFAM with?
Thank you again and all the best
If this is going on a pedalboard, then I would DEFINITELY remove the DFAM. Those little controls stand a rather high possibility of getting broken down there. Plus, it's also a good idea to go larger, as well as adding the necessary support modules for this...
[pause for screwing around with build]
OK...I figured that if you can mash a Make Noise 104 skiff on there, it would be just about as easy to fit an Intellijel Palette 104. And that one change REALLY changes things up...
The tile row on this is largely taken up with pedal interface modules. You've got a stereo input, then two Ritual Electronics Pointeuses with their 1/4" input jacks. These can output triggers with a momentary ON pedal, allowing you to fire triggers at the LFOs or EGs at will. Next to those is the first of several Flexibilite expression pedal inputs, this one being paired with an attenuator for restricting the range for more precise control. It, and the four others after the attenuator, are the "meat" here...in total, you've got four strictly for controlling VCA output pairs so that you can mix the effects manually without having to mess with the controls while playing. And the stereo out after those, natch.
On the 3u row, things get interesting. First up is an envelope follower so that you can extract gate, trigger, and amplitude CV from incoming audio and route those most anywhere. I then added a Zadar/Nin so that you've got four envelopes...all of which will fire on receiving a trigger pulse. That feature works together with the Pointeuses so that you can fire envelopes at will, while keeping two other EGs in reserve for any other use. The MISO then lets you take modulation signals and mess with them...inversion, offsets, mixing, etc. I then slapped the Disting back into that zone, and followed it with a pair of Antumbra dual VCAs...these use the Veils topology which gives you an adjustable response range from linear to exponential, and there's several others in here, as you can see. Last of the modulation section is a Batumi/Poti set...and yes, the Pointeuses can work here, too, to reset LFO sync.
Then the fun begins. The very first Antumbra pair there is for your dry signal, then you've got a Beads for reverb or other granular weirdnesses. This one module is why I put in that extra Flexibilite expression pedal interface...loads of main controls there that can benefit from that. Then another dual VCA, followed by Alright's Chronoblob2, which is a stereo delay line with one weird trick: an insert point in the regen path. So, if you wanted, you could send/return another effect through that to alter the delay's behavior. Another Antumbra dual VCA, then Xaoc's new frequency shifter...that's super-optimal for phasing, flanging, tremolo, and to just mangle the crap out of signals. And again, dual VCA...and next to that is the mixer, which has four stereo inputs.
So how this works is as follows: your guitar signal comes in via the 1/4" jacks on the utility row (splitting a mono signal is a good idea here, if you need to), then the L goes to one mult in the ute row, and R goes to another. From these, you can split out your signal sends to the individual DSP modules. Then by using the four main Flexibilite pedals, you can MIX the different DSPs by foot by using the expression pedals as "faders" that control the dual VCAs. Then the signal passes through those VCAs and on to the quad stereo mixer at the end, where you've set your "overall" levels...so you'd have a stereo pair for "dry", one for the Beads, one for the Chronoblob2, and one more for the frequency shifter.
Now, if you need anything such as a fuzz, OD, and so forth, I'd recommend that those be actual stompboxes so that you can opt to place them UPstream from the Palette rig here, then you can attenuate that signal back down at the stereo input. This should also play nicely with any devices you want to put DOWNstream from this rig. Or better still, have a look at THIS: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TriParMix--electro-harmonix-tri-parallel-mixer I've got one of those...and it's pretty damn mind-blowing! The ability to parallel effects is...well, sorta different. And with that PLUS this build, you can have two other processors on that parallel bus AND still work the Palette via its expression controllers for what'll be a very complex pedalboard setup once completed.
